Where The Heart Is
by Blade of Justice
Summary: What makes a home a home? For some, it's a place to come back to after work, with a hot shower and a warm bed always ready and waiting. It's familiarity and comfort. For others, it's something they don't need, something that holds them back from adventure and excitement. For others still, though... Maybe it's something else entirely.


It seemed like ages had passed since the two of them had first met, since the two of them had started this odd routine they had seemingly become so accustomed to. In reality, it had only been in their youth — they were now older, but still young adults now — when their paths had crossed for the first time. They hadn't been so connected at first, of course, but now, more and more, it seemed as though their paths were irreversibly intertwined, never to be separated, not even through death.

Well... That was how Namco liked to put it, anyway. She had a habit of getting a little dramatic, a little theatrical when it came to her feelings. Bandai had admittedly always been something of a sucker for that sort of thing, even now that she was older — she wouldn't have a store filled with giant robots and superheroes and other goods like it if she wasn't — but at the same time, even she had her limits.

For the thing was... As dreamy, and — dare she think it — even _romantic_, as the idea sounded, Bandai wasn't so sure if she could believe in it as easily as Namco seemed to. It was hard to think of their paths as "irreversibly intertwined" considering how often — romantic metaphors aside — she saw Namco off as she left on _real_ paths, leaving Bandai behind to tend to her store alone. Just like always. There was always a chance it would be days, even weeks before they saw each other again. Sometimes even more still.

It was... strange, really. When she had moved to Lastation from Lowee, she hadn't been dependent on anyone else. She hadn't even considered the idea of needing anyone else. She had seen a better opportunity for herself and she had taken it. She had loved the idea of traveling the world, of selling things to make people happy all over... And in a way, she still did, but she also found happiness in having somewhere to call home.

She enjoyed the fact that she had developed a rapport with her neighbors and the people with Lastation around her. She enjoyed having a home, a routine... Friends and neighbors she could rely on when things got tough. Though Namco refused to believe it, Lady Purple Heart's younger sister frequently would visit her store to admire the model robots on display, even occasionally purchasing some to take back and build with her fellow CPU Candidates. She wished they would visit when Namco was around, but the timing never seemed to match...

Yes, it really did seem strange when she thought about it. The person that was there the least was the person she thought about the most.

It wasn't like Namco _ignored_ her or anything... She was just so _busy_. Was it Bandai's fault for choosing a life that kept her in one place while Namco's chosen life was decidedly that of a person that didn't stay still? Bandai was starting to think it was a wonder Namco ever returned to her shop at all whenever she was actually in Lastation's capital city.

In her youth, Bandai had loved the idea of adventure. She would explore the cold mountains of Lowee, always sure to wear a flamboyant scarf of some kind, just like all the greatest heroes and robot pilots, and a skirt only magical girls on TV could ever get away with wearing to let the world know a hero was in its midst, and she would have a great time. She was happy playing the part alone... But as she got older, she found a passion in wanting to spread the joy she found in that adventure with others, and thus came the birth of her shop. She had settled down. She had grown up and found her home — the wandering little girl that crawled around cold mountains alone had found her place to keep cozy and protect.

But Namco... Namco was different. Namco didn't have a home. Namco could wear armor and a cape and look beautiful and like she wasn't just a cosplayer with a big budget. No, Namco... She was a woman of adventure. Bandai admired that about her. While she had gotten boring and would sometimes go days with her most exciting moment being seeing the goddess window shopping across the street, Namco lived a much more exciting life. She fought monsters, she went on incredible journeys across the world, and so much more — she would always tell Bandai stories of what she did, claiming that telling those tales was her way of making it so that Bandai was there all along... But it wasn't the same, really.

She was a boring old shopkeeper — well, she wasn't _old_, but... Still... It was no wonder Namco would rather go off on her adventures and compete in those fantastical fighting tournaments than sit around and watch stuff on TV to stay up to date on what was popular and sweep and put up new merchandise here at the shop. It wasn't like it was _her_ shop, after all — it was Bandai's.

Namco didn't have somewhere to return to, but Bandai almost never left hers.

That was where their supposedly intertwined paths had split. It was that simple.

Yet... She couldn't help but feel something when she thought about it all. If it wasn't that bad, why was it that Namco thought so strongly that they were "forever entwined," while she didn't seem to think it was that way at all?

When it would come time to close up for the night, Bandai would occasionally wonder how things had ended up this way.

They had become friends quickly enough. Their interests were similar, and there had been a time when Bandai had traveled alongside Namco before she'd decided she'd rather stay in the city and sell things... They had been through a lot together. It was natural they would become good friends. If it were an anime or a TV show, there probably would be countless fanworks about the two of them being... _together_ (what a thought!) from just that alone. Bandai might even have some stuffed under her bed — where Namco knew never to look — with the rest of that sort of thing if their story had been a compelling enough one. They had gone on their own share of adventures together before Bandai had decided to start doing this, even if it paled in comparison to those Namco now went on without her there.

They were the closest of friends, at the very least. Weren't they?

Sometimes, Bandai couldn't help but wonder...

Was she jealous?

No... Yes... _Maybe_?

It wasn't that she envied Namco for doing all of the things she had chosen to give up on.

No, if anything, it was more like... she envied those things themselves for getting to spend more time with Namco than she did.

Did she want Namco to take her with her? Was that why she kept that home-made sword, crafted out of spare parts from broken down robots, in the bottom of her trunk in her room...? Was that why she always made sure her old scarf was washed, just in case she'd need it...?

She wasn't sure. She was happy being a shop keeper, and every time a customer left with a smile, she would smile for the rest of the day.

Maybe... More than anything... She supposed she just didn't _understand_ Namco.

Even the goddesses themselves had homes. Bandai passed by Lady Black Heart's at least once a week.

So why didn't Namco want one?

* * *

Like usual, there was no warning when Namco returned. Bandai had been in the back room when she'd heard the bells on the door jingle. She'd called out her usual "Be right there! I'm just transforming back to my civilian form!" joke that customers seemed to like as she made her way to the front, wiping her hands on her apron. It had been a slow day and she'd been in the middle of a break, painting a model she'd just finished. There was never a schedule for it, so it was a total surprise when she saw that the person at the counter was none other than Namco.

Bandai's worries and wonderings seemingly evaporated upon seeing her oldest friend there in her shop's doorway.

Elated, she would slip into old habits and routines with ease, as if Namco had never been gone. As soon as Namco was back in town, it was like she had always been there — that was how seemingly easy it was for her. Maybe for them. Bandai suspected that that was just how Namco was, but she couldn't really say for sure. It didn't really matter now.

Namco would look at the new things that had come in while she'd been away. Bandai would explain it all, taking pleasure in being able to point out how Namco's theories of certain shows they had been watching before she'd last left had ended up totally wrong, and even finding enjoyment in Namco gloating about the ones that she had been right about. Bandai would try in vain to show Namco the things that she was _sure_ Lady Black Heart had been eyeballing when she had passed the store window, but Namco would always laugh at the idea of their goddess ever paying this little shop the time of day. It was all in good fun — and even those teasing remarks would be a welcome change.

Life in general just seemed so much brighter when Namco was in town. All the little things didn't seem little anymore. Shopping for anime and scoping out competing stores (where Bandai was actually friendly with the owner anyway) went from part of her routine to a mission being carried out by a pair of knights, sent to learn the secrets of the enemy's castle after raiding their libraries for new spells. Bandai wondered if Namco had a little eighth grade syndrome in her, but she supposed with all the quests and adventures she went on, anyone would.

Truth be told, she wished she could be more honest about that herself. With all her own treasures, anyone looking in on her personal rooms — though only Namco ever got to see them often — would take her for someone trying to dethrone Lady Green Heart as the owner of the most toys in Gamindustri. Except for when Namco was around and when she was in the store... She hadn't been able to brazenly do things like that since her days on the mountains of Lowee. That was all "for kids," after all... Wasn't it?

Of course, those were thoughts she had only _after_ Namco would leave again. For Bandai, with Namco still here, she had much more important issues. When Namco was in town, the guest room that was only ever used by one guest turned into Namco's hideaway. It would be decorated with trophies boasting of victories Namco modestly kept downplayed, fragments of swords that Namco claimed were supposedly cursed, and more and more of those simple little pellets that Namco claimed gave her power beyond imagine.

Bandai didn't believe it, but then again, Bandai was trying to customize her motorcycle (only really used for making and picking up deliveries) so that it could turn into a robot on command. She supposed she couldn't talk.

With Namco, even the routine they would slip into was anything but routine. Except for mornings when her favorite shows were on, Bandai tended to sleep in, only just waking up in time to get ready and look her best with minutes to spare before she had to open. With Namco home, though, she would wake much earlier, often to the smell of something delicious being cooked in the kitchen downstairs.

Something as simple as regular old grocery shopping was always fun when Namco was in town. Most food-related things tended to be. Namco was an excellent cook (though to Bandai, most people were excellent cooks), and she would always come back having learned new recipes, and she was _always_ eager to see what Bandai would like and not like. The people in the grocery stores and markets were all always eager to see her — not as much as Bandai was, of course — and they were always eager to hear those recipes for themselves.

"Sorry everyone, you don't get to hear about anything until they get an approval of B!" Namco would always say this same silly line, and the the merchants would all wonder why she didn't just give them the A grade things, but Namco would never answer these questions. Most people figured she just wanted to keep it all to herself — considering how good the recipes that got Bs from her were, who were they to complain?

Being closer to Namco than just a merchant, Bandai had tried and asked about it at some point in the past, but just recalling it...

_"Shouldn't you aim higher? I know your food is worth much better than just a B."  
_

_"Higher? Why would I do that?"_

_"Isn't it obvious? Aiming for Bs is just..."_

_"What are you saying? Wait... Don't tell me you still don't know."_

_"Know what?"_

_"There isn't a higher grade I can think of for my food than them being Bandai approved."_

... it was just so... ridiculous! And corny! And... And...

"Bandai? Did something good happen? You've got a strange expression on your face."

"What? O-Oh! Namco! No, I was just thinking about the new episode of Nep Rangers tomorrow... It's the second part of a big cliffhanger, and..."

* * *

Namco was going to be leaving again. Tomorrow, in fact.

Her returns were one thing, but her departures... Well, Bandai always knew. She didn't think Namco realized how she telegraphed herself, or maybe she did, but it didn't matter. For while her returns were sporadic and always came at what seemed like random, but her departures were anything but.

Sadly... It was just another part of their routine now. Every night after the shop closed, after dinner was finished, Namco would tell Bandai a little more of her most recent tale, her newest journey. Every night, as they got closer and closer to the end, Bandai would get tired — she would be feigning it, of course — earlier and earlier, and they would have to stop for the night. It would be like this every night until, at breakfast at some point down the line, whenever she was getting close to the end of whatever tale she was telling each night, Namco would announce she would finish her story that night. It meant that the next day, Namco intended to leave again.

Would this adventure be one that lasted weeks? Or would it be one that only went on for a few days?

Though Namco clearly wanted the day to be exciting and happy, for she would lavish Bandai with her favorite things to eat and be twice as willing as usually to help around the shop, Bandai could only feel apprehension as dinnertime continued to approach.

She didn't want this, she realized.

She wanted Namco to stay, she realized.

She felt like it was still too soon for this to end, she realized.

As dinner neared its end that night, as the last time she would get to enjoy Namco recalling her journeys for who knew how long rapidly approached, Bandai finally had to say something. Even if she couldn't ask outright... She had to ask something. Anything to find a little more understanding.

"You're always traveling... Don't you ever want to settle down? Somewhere to come home to? It's not like you're not liked here in Lastation, you could get an apartment, or..." There were things she wasn't saying, things she knew she couldn't say, but for her, it was a start. For the girl shopkeeper who would wait for the traveler, this was more than she had said in a long time. "What would happen if I'm not..."

She couldn't finish the thought. The idea of it wasn't one she wanted to entertain for more than she already had.

"What are you saying, Bandai?" Namco was smiling at her. She didn't seem too bothered by Bandai's question, and she even playfully elbowed the shopkeeper, much to said shopkeeper's confusion. "Why do you think I always come to you instead of going to an inn?"

To this, Bandai quirked a brow. That was an odd question, and one that seemed fairly off topic as well. Whether it was here or at an inn... Neither of those places really had anything to do with a home, did they?

"Because... I don't charge you for staying here?"

Clearly forcing back a laugh, Namco shook her head.

"If I didn't have a place to come home to, I don't think I'd be able to go anywhere to begin with." The blonde adventurer nodded to herself. The way she was looking at Bandai... The robot and hero fanatic was pretty sure that they weren't even having the same conversation anymore, and that just confused her anymore. Namco _didn't_ have a home. Everyone knew that — even the CPU Candidate of Planeptune knew it with how often she'd walked in on Bandai complaining to herself about it. "It's important to have somewhere to go back to, just like you're saying. I don't know what I'd do without my home."

Bandai tilted her head. She was lost.

"So... What you're saying is... You're a freeloader?" It was... something, she supposed, even if it didn't do anything for _her_. It did fit Namco's personality, at least... She needed somewhere to sleep when she was in town and she needed someone to keep her stuff safe when she went off on her crazy adventures. She didn't need a home, she just needed storage and a bed. ... Wow, that was actually a little depressing...! "That _would_ explain why you always come _here_ when you're in town... You sure know how to make a girl feel appreciated. So anybody with a room would do, huh?"

Bandai laughed dryly. She wasn't as bothered as she sounded — at least she was pretty sure she wasn't. It was just like Namco to be like that, wasn't it? It was no different than the time she'd chased a spaceship into an odd portal into "another world" (Bandai still found the story questionable) and came back claiming she had been gone for a whole year. It didn't matter whether or not it was true — she'd always come back, at least, so she'd just keep making the most of it like she always did.

Namco didn't look like she agreed, oddly enough.

"You know the saying, right? 'Home is where the heart is'?" Interrupting her thoughts, the adventurer brought the other girl's attention back down to Gamindustri right away. Bandai just looked back at Namco in confusion, while Namco was looking at Bandai almost... expectantly. Bandai raised an eyebrow — she wasn't the one that hadn't finished what she had been saying, Namco was. After a short, unspoken conversation like that, it was Namco that laughed next, shaking her head as she did. As she spoke, though, her gaze didn't leave Bandai for a moment. "I see... Well, it's like this, Bandai... To me, this place isn't 'in town' like you keep saying it is. There are plenty of 'in towns' out there for me."

The shop keeper considered this for a moment... and then she sighed and got up. She had dishes to do, after all.

"If you say so... Just don't expect me to keep footing all your bills... I'm trying to run a business, you know? One of these days, Namco, you're gonna get into so much trouble..."

As Bandai did this, she completely and utterly missed the surprised look on Namco's face that had come after Bandai hadn't responded positively to what she'd said. From Bandai's perspective, it was just Namco being Namco again, after all. Nothing particularly unusual about that.

And so for now, that was that, she supposed. Maybe she'd _never_ understand Namco... At least Namco kept coming back to her, for whatever reason it was. She could be happy with that.

As the strangely defeated looking young woman trudged into the kitchen to get to work, for she wanted it done sooner rather than later so she and Namco could at least have tonight without any chores and the like in the way, Namco watched her go, an odd, almost bemused sort of smile starting to spread across her lips.

"This is the girl that brags that she can catch every death flag in every show she watches...? Really?" Namco laughed. She often wondered if she could be too forward, but clearly Bandai's strange bouts of obliviousness would beat her attempts at being bold at every turn anyway. "You really need to watch something else once in a while. Don't tell me I have to wave a _real_ flag around before you finally get it..."

After a moment, perhaps one of seriously considering doing just that, the swordswoman shrugged, briefly looking defeated herself for a moment, before she got up to join Bandai in the kitchen — she wasn't about to let her do them tonight.

Maybe next time she stopped by this toy shop in Lastation, Bandai would finally figure it out...

"One of these days, Bandai..."

Even if she never did, though?

Namco knew she would always keep coming back to her.

And if that feeling wasn't home, then what was?


End file.
